Ebola survivors report pain, depression symptoms and signs of blindness

The Ebola virus was responsible for a lot of death when it first struck last year but the after effects of the epidemic can still be seen in the people who survived the virus. According to global health experts, a number of West Africans who were infected with the Ebola virus but survived it have been suffering from chronic conditions like serious joint pain and eye conditions that can lead to permanent blindness. Even though the World Health Organization had declared the country free from the virus, a few more deaths were reported earlier this yearand it was suspected that they were caused because of the virus. Later, investigations were ordered into the matter.

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Meanwhile, the experts suggested that the patients that fought off the most severe forms of the virus were more likely to suffer these ongoing medical problems. The WHO health experts also said that the health of the people is becoming an emergency. Andrea Nordstrom a WHO representative in Sierra Leone participated in a five-day conference about the Ebola survivors this week and said,”The world has never seen such a large number of survivors from an Ebola outbreak. We have 13,000 survivors in three countries which are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

This is a new phenomenon from both a medical and societal point of view.” The survivors are dealing with severe problems related to the eyes such as inflammation, impaired vision and in severe but rare cases it could also lead to blindness which has been reported in 25 per cent of the cases. Some other long term problems like increasing rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorders and social exclusion were also affecting the survivors.

West Africa had witnessed the most devastating Ebola epidemic ever, which claimed the highest number of lives and it is still terrorizing the people because of its resilient nature. The virus is known to be able to survive for 21 days in most of the body fluids which includes semen, blood etc. body fluids were also the main means of transmission among the public during the epidemic. The reports of people going blind because of recovering from the virus could mean that the virus was persisting in the eyes.

A few drugs have been developed to counter the virus but the drug developers would not be ready for the ailments that the survivors have to deal with. Scientists are looking into the matter and are trying to find a reason so as to why the survivors are still suffering.